Circuit Judge James Daniel gave the 26-year-old mother a second chance. He sentenced her to 10 years in prison, “but he credited her with the two years, four months she’s already served in jail awaiting the consequences and suspended the rest of the sentence to probation.” This means that Susana will not go to prison so long as she strictly adheres to the terms and conditions of her probation. As a condition of her probation, “she also must spend 90 days in the Hubbard House domestic violence shelter and then two years at Community Connections, a halfway house that was proposed during a previous hearing where she will get mental health counseling and life skills help.” The Florida Times Union reported:

“Daniel said the evidence that Susana needed immediate mental health counseling was the primary reason for her release.‘She needs specialized treatment for a mental disorder,’ Daniel said. ‘Her mental health condition clearly requires treatment that is unavailable in prison.’ Psychologist Jacqueline Brown with the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center testified last month that Susana is a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder that goes back to her husband killing himself in front of two of her children. Daniel said state guidelines suggested a 13-year sentence, but he went lower because Susana had expressed genuine remorse, the crime was an isolated event and she didn’t pose a threat to the community.”

This is by no means a slap on the hand. Susana will end up in prison for 10 years if she violates her Florida probation. If the counseling works for her, she will remain a free and productive member of society. One thing that will be hard for Susana is to deal with the high profile nature of this Jacksonville criminal case. She will be dealing with ridicule. People will treat her as an outcast. While I do not think she will be treated like Casey Anthony or George Zimmerman, she will still have trouble from other people. This will make it harder for her to change her life, but she will have to do it.